


Colorado, 1996

by coolkidmitch



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:27:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21875146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolkidmitch/pseuds/coolkidmitch
Summary: Mulder and Scully make their way to Colorado to investigate a strange appearance. But what they find, is not what they had expected. (A gift for a friend for a Secret Santa art exchange!)
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Kudos: 7





	Colorado, 1996

Sunrise had started an hour before but it wasn’t until it peeked over the crest of the mountains that Mulder finally wok up. He hated colorado but more importantly, he hated that the only hotel that was he was able to get a room at was a rich a high-end ski resort. He much preferred the skeezy motels and low-end continental breakfasts that came with them. 

“I see you’re up.” 

Mulder jumped and saw Scully sitting on the edge of the other lush queen bed in his room.

“Why are you dressed.” He joked.

She rolled her eyes, “I’ve got your coffee and breakfast on the desk.” 

Mulder sat up and looked, “Where did you find that?”

“It’s called room service. Now wake up. We’ve got to go.” She stood up and walked toward the door.

“You don’t want to talk about last night?” 

Scully paused and turned, “We’ve got work to do. We can talk about it when the job is done.” 

The door shut and Mulder sighed. They’d been going around in circles like this for weeks, months even. They’d finally get some time alone to really talk, really figure out what it was between them and then she’d shut him out. Usually, it was him getting obsessed with a case. He knew that eventually, it’d be the two of them that would find something huge, something world-changing. They’d be able to talk about anything, aliens, mysterious happenstances, psychics, but when it came to their own feelings toward one another, they couldn’t figure out where to begin. They’d let their bodies do the talking and then just pretend like it never happened. He hated the cycle. He wanted more, but she was obviously holding back from him. But maybe it was him, too blinded by their work to be able to actually sit down and figure it all out.

He got dressed, quickly got his breakfast down and threw on his parka and headed down the lobby.

Mulder weaved through the skiers and snowboarders, all joyfully heading to the slopes. He ducked and dove avoiding the crowd until he made his way outside. Scully waved him over, “Here’s some more coffee.” she passed over a steaming cup.

“How long for our car?” Mulder took a sip.

“Valet said forty-five minutes.” she looked at her watch and over to the trolley headed to the slopes.

“Forty---?” he choked on his coffee, “Did you at least try to tell them how important it was? Maybe flash the badge.”

Scully sighed and looked over at the valet stand, “You think me waving my badge is going to get us our car faster? Let's be clear that we’re the least important people staying here.” She eyed a woman walking by in a shoulder to floor mink fur coat. 

“Really? An FBI badge isn’t going to get us our car faster?” 

“No, Mulder. You can’t just use your badge at every instance. And I had our car called forty-five minutes ago.” she walked away from him and toward a black van pulling toward them.

“Are---you!” he followed after her into the van.

They were only a few miles away from the area of town where the report had come in. Mulder started to drive and turned the radio all the way down. They say in silence for a moment and he felt his gut turning. He had to say something before they both became entrenched in their work. 

“So, you don’t want to talk at all about last night?” Mulder cleared his throat.

“The case file said---” Scully started.

“So we’re back to work? We can’t take a second to try and figure out what this is?” 

“The case file said that a circular ring as flickered in a public garden in Vail. The garden has been shut down to keep tourists away and they have the area covered in a large tent. Current opps is saying there was some sort of crime there, maybe a murder, to keep people away.” Scully flipped through the folder she had in her bag.

Mulder sighed and scratched his nose, “What kind of ring?”

“It hasn’t stuck around long enough to get enough details, only that it was a blue color and had an odd smell that emits from it when appears.” 

“What kind of smell?” 

Scully flipped a page, “Smoke, is what one of the agents guarding the spot said.” 

“Interesting. No sound?” 

“A small echo, that another guard said sounds like a voice but they couldn’t make out any actual words,” Scully paused, “Except…”

“Except what?” 

“Nothing. I’m sure it’s possible.” Scully closed the folder.

“All facts are important, Scully. What does it say?” Mulder insisted.

“It’s nothing, exit here.” she pointed off the freeway and it became obvious where they were headed. The garden was right off the main freeway and was already covered in a huge black tent. 

“Wow, way to look inconspicuous.” Mulder laughed. 

They made their way out of the van and approached. The crime scene tape was wrapped fully around the gardens in front of the large black tent had armed guards standing outside. 

“What do we have?” Mulder said, getting out of the van and flashing his badge.

One of the guards nodded, “We’ve had more activity since the sun came up. But the circle hasn’t fully materialized yet.”

“What are we thinking?” Scully asked.

The guards looked at one another, “We have no idea. The scientists inside might have more information.”

“I’d like to go in and take a look, just the two of us.” Scully started to walk into the tent.

Three scientists inside were taking scans of a small light forming in the center of the tent. It hovered about five feet off the ground and was pulsating, lighting up the snow on the plant beds around.

“Well?” Scully asked.

“We’re getting no readings from it. It emits photons, but that’s all. There is no chemical emission or radiation. It’s just...light.” the lead scientist said, showing them his small scanners. 

“We’ll take it from here.” Mulder waved a hand and the three scientists scattered outside the tent, muttering to each other about their inconclusive readings.

They watched the light pulsating, getting slightly brighter, then dimming again.

“What do you think it is?” Scully squinted.

Mulder squatted and watched the light, “No idea…”

The ring appeared and started to spin. It was eight feet in diameter and spun. The band itself was decorated with runes, looking almost nordic in appearance, but neither of the two could decipher. There was a voice. Someone calling out. It echoed and a shaped appeared.

“Do you see that?” Scully asked.

“It looks like a woman!” Mulder yelled as a high wind picked up that shook the snow from the ground over the two.

There was a pause and the ring vanished. Standing where the blue light was, was a blue-skinned woman. Her hair pulled back in dreadlocks. She looked around and said loudly, “Oh my goooooood!~”

Scully stepped forward slowly, “Hello?” 

“It actually worked!” the blue woman gasped, looking around the garden.

“Who are you?” Mulder also stepped toward her, but she immediately rushed away, looking at the plants covered in snow.

“Awww bummer. I thought I was coming in the summer.” she picked up a small dead leaf and sniffed it.

There was a smell. It wasn’t smoke. Mulder knew that smell. The woman smelled just like college.

“Yes, it’s winter, January 23rd, 1996. Do you know where you are?” 

The woman turned to Mulder, “1996? Are you kidding me?!” She looked at a small blue amulet around her neck and tapped on it. Her hands moved in a rhythm and it started to glow, “Weed isn’t even legal yet!”

“Weed?” Scully squinted.

“Yea man! I came all this way because I heard Colorado, in your world, in the year 2019, was full of weed! Weed as far as the eye can see! Faerun doesn’t even know the magic in weed, man!” the woman waved her hands again and tapped the amulet again and it started to flash in a rhythmic pattern.

“Marijuana is not legal in the United States, ma’am. And Faerun? Where is that?” Mulder asked. He pulled out a small notebook and started taking as many notes as he could.

“You could never get there. I hear there is no magic here. But the weed, man! The weed!”

“Your hand…” Scully had noticed that the woman’s hand was completely made of plant material.

“Oh yea! My weed hand.” She waved it around. It was, in fact, made of marijuana bud.

“How….” Mulder wasn’t sure what to say. 

“I’m Island Breeze.” she stuck out her weed hand, and Mulder slowly reached out toward it.

“This is not how I thought First Contact would go.” Scully whispered.

“First contact? Naaah! I’m not an Alien. I’m just a chill Genasi, on a quest for the dankest of the dank. But it looks like the Gate spell attached to this amulet is busted, won't be back up and running until sunrise tomorrow. Bummer.” Island walked away from the handshake and waved another hand. A small flame appeared in her opposite hand and she lit her weed hand. A puff of smoke and she, somehow, smoked her own hand.

“Let me get this straight. You traveled from another dimension through magic to come to Colorado, 23 years in the future, just so you could get your hands on some weed?” Mulder blinked.

“That’s it. Now let’s get some snacks.” Island walked past the two and started to make her way outside of the black tent.

“Wait!” Scully grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, “No one from our world has seen anyone from your world. And this is a highly-populated area. We can’t have a blue human walking around.”

“Genasi. Not a human. I mean if y’all want to get blazed up in here, then I’m down.” She walked back to the center of the tent and took another hit off her hand. “Can I offer you some of my weed hand? It’s not super danky but it’s enough to get you a good buzz.”

Scully laughed and looked down at her feet and then back up at Island, “No. Thank you.”

Mulder looked over at Scully and shrugged, “It would be rude to refuse a gift during first contact.” 

“You’re not serious, Mulder.” Before Scully could stop him he took a hit off of Island’s hand.

“Just keep it in. Don’t exhale yet. Really let it in.” Island smiled.

Mulder exhaled, coughing aggressively. Scully just rolled her eyes.

“I cannot believe…” Scully looked over and Island was looking directly at her, smiling. 

“Come on maaan!” Island walked forward, offering her hand while Mulder was still having a coughing fit behind her.

Scully sighed, “Just a small one.”

\---

The sun was coming up over the mountains. Scully cracked open an eye and saw lying next to her in the hotel bed was the bare blue body of Island, entangled with Mulder’s.

“Oh my god.” Scully looked at the clock.

“Good morning, Princess.” Island smiled.

“I...how did we get here?!” Scully dove out of bed and searched frantically for her clothes, which were scattered about the room.

“It was some good shit man. You guys brought me back here and we had...well, you know what we did.” Island laughed.

“S’happening?” Mulder’s eyes started to open and Island petted the back of his head.

“It’s alright. Scully is just a little confused about last night. Guess she took more than one hit.” Island laughed, lighting her own hand again and taking a morning puff.

“No, we were investigating the ring ...then you...and now…” Scully looked confused and worried. 

Before she could say anything else, the blue amulet that Island had been wearing started to light up green on the nightstand.

“Oh hell yea, looks like my Gate spell is back. I can actually get to 2019. Get some of the dankest weed this side of the Feywild.” Island slipped out of bed and started to get dressed.

“You’re leaving already?” Mulder frowned.

“I’m not supposed to be here, dude. You guys were just a fluke. My magic’s been wonky since I started banging the seasonal Gods.” she put the amulet around her neck and waved her hand.

“The what?!” Scully felt like her brain was going to start dripping out her ears at any moment.

“Well, time for me to go. Thanks for the fuck! See ya later dudes!” She clicked the amulet and a large green ring appeared in the hotel room. 

Before Mulder and Scully could say anything else, Island vanished through it in a puff of dank smoke. 

Mulder looked over at Scully, “We really need to talk.”


End file.
